"Huff… huff… damn…"
"Ugh… I'm gonna puke…"
Most of the students collapsed where they stood.
Meanwhile—
"Pheww! Now that was fun! I kinda wanna do it again. Don't you think so, Meilyn?"
Knox turned around, grinning.
Behind him, the ever-proud Meilyn sat slumped over like a wilted octopus.
Truly sea-like.
"H-huft… huft… I thought I was going to die… How could you even laugh back there?! And— and why did you suddenly call me Meilyn like that?"
Knox tilted his head.
"So… I can't call you Meilyn?"
Worst of all, he asked it with that innocent voice, that gentle look, and that tilt-the-head gesture.
Even Lorain, who already had some resistance to Knox's face, wouldn't have survived that one.
And Meilyn — a complete newbie — took the full critical hit straight to the heart.
"Urgh!"
She clutched her chest. "That's not fair!"
She pumped her fists up and down in frustration like an angry cat. After a moment, she finally calmed herself.
"But… I never said no…" she muttered, cheeks flushing.
"D-don't misunderstand! I only said that because… because— oh, right! We haven't even introduced ourselves properly yet!" she finished with a huff.
Knox blinked.
This reaction…?! A real tsundere?! I never thought I'd see one in person!
He smiled warmly and offered his hand.
"You're right — we haven't. My name is Knox Aznable. Just call me Knox. Nice to meet you."
Meilyn cleared her throat and took his hand.
"Ahem. I am Meilyn Villenne of the Ivory Tower. Just call me Meilyn."
They shook hands — then finally looked forward.
All around them, students were sprawled flat across the field, faces pale. The hippos had already lumbered back down the mountain, while the TAs walked around handing out bottles.
What is this…? Simon thought, taking a sip.
The drink had a strange taste.
Knox, meanwhile — being a food lover — brightened the moment it touched his tongue.
It was sweet, with a faint spicy kick, yet somehow quenched his thirst and washed the fatigue straight out of his body. One by one, the students began to revive.
Flap, flap, flap!
A flock of white birds soared overhead, circling the clearing.
Then—
"Welcome, everyone, to my main base of operations!"
Beyond the rising birds, a tall woman strode toward them, both arms spread wide.
Her skin was a healthy bronze, her build solid and powerful, and her hair was twisted into several thick cords in a striking, unusual style.
The students instantly scrambled to their feet.
That woman is…
Hong Feng Tun Sokum Marerat.
A legend among necromancers — the one who single-handedly faced the colossal undead beast known as the Kundar Hydra, which had devastated four entire territories. After five days of nonstop battle, she snapped all one hundred of its necks and emerged victorious.
A small bit of trivia:
There was once a time when Knox begged Nefthis to give him the Hydra's corpse.
He really wanted it — he dreamed of turning it into one of his shadow soldiers. He even recruited Lorain to help plead his case, bribing her with an entire stack of layered cakes.
In the end… Nefthis rejected them. Knox lost — but Lorain still walked away with the cakes, so technically… she won.
Thus: Knox lost. Lorain won. (Truly, a battle of strategy... and sweets.)
Back to the present—
Hong Feng was eventually scouted by Kizen and has been teaching Magical Combat Studies (Matou) ever since.
Eccentric as she was, her talent was unquestionable — and that was precisely why the school overlooked her peculiar behavior.
Flap!
Forest birds swooped down and perched neatly on the fingers she held out.
"Now then, everyone, please ztand up, if you please."
Her speech was slightly off from the common tongue, as though she hadn't fully mastered it.
"Form yourselb into four by rowz."
"...?"
The students glanced at one another, clearly unsure what she meant.
Knox, on the other hand, only smiled.
He already knew that Hong Feng could speak perfectly fine — this strange way of talking was just a façade she liked to put on.
Right on cue, Hong Feng's teaching assistants stepped forward, already used to the routine.
"Please line up in four columns."
"Move quickly."
The students hurried into formation, still wearing confused expressions. Hong Feng stood at the front, while her TAs positioned themselves on either side of the rows.
"Then, we shall depart now."
Wait—when is the class actually going to start?
Just as Simon had that thought, Hong Feng suddenly dashed forward.
Knox, who already knew this would happen, immediately followed after her. The students at the front panicked and began running too, and just like that, a surprise run had begun.
"A healthy body brings forth steady progress! The foundation of Magical Combat is a strong physique!"
Her accent sounded odd, but the message itself was crystal clear.
As she gradually increased her speed, the students in the lead began to struggle.
Not far behind, Knox calmly watched her movements.
As expected of Hong Feng. Incredible.
The angle of each step, the way her muscles shifted, the rhythm of her shoulders and torso — everything was precise. It was like watching a perfect diagram come to life. There wasn't a single wasted motion.
I should observe and analyze her movements thoroughly. Then absorb them — make them my own, Knox thought.
Of course, he didn't stare for too long. If he did, people would definitely label him a pervert.
…Not realizing that several male students were already doing exactly that — and had quietly been branded as perverts by the girls nearby.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Huuh! Huuuuh!"
As everyone was busy running frantically, Hong Feng slightly slowed her pace and began lecturing while they ran.
The basics of Magical Combat — its philosophy, and its purpose.
To summarize, Magical Combat was a class where students learned techniques that involved wrapping their bodies in Darkness to push physical abilities to the extreme, then using that power in battle.
Once a practitioner reached a certain level, the Darkness would spill out of the body and form garments called Dark Robes — a symbol of true battle necromancers.
Many male students dreamed of mastering this technique, and quite a few had chosen the Magical Combat track purely because of the Dark Robes.
"There be many trees. Take caution, yes!"
The run continued into dense woods, thick with brush and fallen leaves. Their neat formation broke apart, and everyone started following Hong Feng in their own ways, dodging trees as they went.
Most students flailed through the undergrowth — but a few began leaping up, bounding from branch to branch.
They were the Magical Combat (matou) aspirants, finally getting a chance to show off. Of course, not everyone here was aiming for Matou — including Knox and Simon.
Knox moved like someone already used to specialized terrain: calm, precise, and elegant. Combined with the gentle, excited smile on his face, it almost looked like he was just out for a relaxing stroll in the park.
Simon, meanwhile, had grown up leaping across the dangerous southern mountain ranges of Leshill like they were his backyard — so this kind of thing was practically his daily breakfast.
One of the TAs sprang into a tree and gave the Matou aspirants a thumbs-up. Their faces lit up. Then they noticed Knox and Simon… and their expressions got even brighter.
"Man, I'm jealous of the Combat kids. Tsk!"
Rick grumbled — and immediately slammed face-first into a tree trunk.
"Hmm." Simon continued watching everything carefully.
It was a physical, close-combat style of dark magic — and the more he saw, the more interested he became.
"Huff! Huff! Hey, Simon! You okay?"
Rick asked, his face flushed bright red.
Simon blinked. "Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine."
"Huff! Huff! What kind of stamina do you have…? Cough!"
"Doesn't everyone manage a run like this?"
Rick stared at him — then turned to check Knox. Before he could say anything, he froze.
Knox was even more relaxed than Simon.
Rick silently closed his mouth.
Right… for someone like Knox, this kind of activity was probably no different than breathing while snacking on cake.
Even the TAs were starting to sweat, but Knox and Simon still looked completely relaxed.
This class is fun too!
Both of them thought the exact same thing at the same time.
While Simon happily immersed himself in the long-awaited physical exercise, and Knox simply enjoyed being outdoors, Hong Feng watched the two of them with sparkling eyes